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m. Abt 1670
Facts and Events
The marriage of this Samuel Reed to Abigail White is reported in Source:Chamberlain, George Walter. History of Weymouth, Massachusetts, p. 4:572, where it states that Samuel Reed, s/o Sgt. Thomas and Sarah Reed, m. 7 Jan 1704 Abigail White, d/o Ebenezer and Hannah White. No children found on Weymouth or Abington records. This pairing is repeated in various sources, such as Source:Crane, Ellery B. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts, probably based on Chamberlain's work. According to Source:Mendon, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records to the Year 1850, p. 370, "Read, Samuel and Abigal White, Jan. 7, 1703-4", which seems to agree. But the question is, is this the correct Samuel Read? It seems likely that it is not the Samuel Reed of this page, but another one, who marriage Abigail White. The VRs of Mendon tell the following story. Samuel Read the Elder d. Mendon 1717 in his 72nd year, so born about 1646. He had a son Samuel b. Mendon 1669, d. 1725, who m. Deborah --- sometime before the birth of daughter Mary in 1694. Deborah d. 1702 (age 26 so clearly not the daughter Deborah b. 1696), meaning this Samuel Read would probably have been looking for a new wife right about the time of the marriage to Abigail White. So to believe Chamberlain got it right, we must accept that a town having two Samuel Reads, one a recent widower with children to take care of, and yet the marriage of Abigail White was to a third Samuel Read from a town 45 miles away (over a day's traveling). Chamberlain found no children, but must have looked in the Mendon records, because he said Abigail died there and he had the date of the marriage which is not found in either Abington or Weymouth records. So how did he miss the births of the children born there? Probably because he did not look, thinking that Samuel had no children. Samuel's brother John willed land to one of his daughters which he said he inherited from his brother Samuel. Typically, brothers and sisters only inherit from siblings when there are no children, for if there are children, usually everything is divided amongst the children, especially in intestate cases such as Samuel (Chamberlain said John was appointed administrator of his estate 13 Nov 1739, not his executor). This suggests that Samuel actually had no children, and therefore this marriage in Mendon to Abigail White is the wrong Samuel Read. More proof comes from the will of Thomas Reed of Mendon, s/o Samuel and Abigail Reed of Mendon, dated 1738/39, which refers to his mother Abigail Murdock. As Samuel Reed of Abington was still alive when the will was written, Abigail Murdock could not have been his remarried widow. The Samuel Reed of Mendon d. 1724/25 and it could have been his. So knowing that Samuel Reed of Mendon married an Abigail, it is highly unlikely that Samuel Reed of Abington was the one who married in Mendon Abigail White. It is suspected further proof may be found in a detailed examination of the probate documents of both men. Source:Buford, Mary Hunter. Seth Read, His Ancestors and Descendants, p. 15, says that Samuel Read of Mendon had a will dated 5 Feb 1723/24, though no information from it is given. Presumably he named his wife Abigail and some or all of his children, confirming that he is not the Samuel Reed who died childless. Some of the probate documents of the Samuel Reed of Abington are given in Source:Reed, John Ludovicus. Reed Genealogy, p. 32-34, and there is no sign of a widow, with brother John Reed being the one who swore to the truth of the inventory that was taken 13 Oct 1739. It appears that Samuel never married. --Jrich 09:36, 18 July 2010 (EDT) - References
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